Washington's Marc Jones and Crisfield's Jawyne Taylor work for control of the ball.

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Staff Writer

PRINCESS ANNE — In a rivalry game that filled every crevice of the Washington boys basketball gym, the home team came out on top against the Crisfield Crabbers with the bleachers rocking.

The last minute was as drama-filled as a game could be.

Crisfield inbounded the ball with 46 seconds left, and Shakur Cottman, playing with four fouls, stole the ball from Lamount Potter. Montraz Oliver got the ball and banked it off the backboard for the 75-74 lead.

But Washington had the final answer. The Jaguars answered when Marc Jones hit a right baseline floater with six seconds on the clock.

On a long pass for the inbounds play, Washington knocked it away and the crowd stormed the court after the 77-76 win.

“Feels great, that was a good game – great rivalry – feels good to hit the shot,” Marc Jones said.

He finished with 14 points and said he practiced that shot over and over again and had the confidence it was going in.

It was a back-and-forth game for all four quarters of the newest chapter of Crisfield-Washington.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Washington (7-3, 6-2 Bayside) was down 54-53.

Crisfield pulled out to a lead and the Jaguars would scrap back. Washington tied it twice through the first half of the fourth.

The Jaguars tied it three times at 57, 59 and 69, but when Marc Jones hit two free throws with 2:32 left, Washington took its first lead at 71-70. He delivered once more for the Jaguars late in the fourth.

With the gym rocking, Jaguars’ head coach Nick Purnell said he expected his team to react no differently but to thrive from the sixth man behind them.

“This crowd is one of the most intense crowds I’ve ever been around,” Purnell said. “That crowd really helped us at the end. These kids never quit, never give up. They feed off this crowd and that is what homecourt is all about.”

Crabbers’ head coach Dale Turpin said his team failed to execute down the stretch and gave up too many turnovers along with points from the free-throw line.

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“We missed eight free throws at the end and we lost by one point, so what can you say,” Turpin said. “It’s just tough to lose.”

From the opening tip, Crisfield (7-3, 5-3) came to play.

To start the first, post play by forward Montel Douglas, who had 17 points for the game, and a jumper by guard Lamount Potter, who had 12 points total, gave the Crabbers an early 4-0 lead.

But it didn’t take long for Washington to get its feet set. Jemir Jones answered with a running jumper in the lane while being fouled and converted the 3-point play. He was the Jaguars second leading scorer with 17 on the night.

The play in the first got less sloppy from there. The squads traded 11 misses and turnovers in a row until the Jaguars’ Marc Jones drove for a layup to make the score 12-11 at the end of the first.

After shaky end to the first, Crisfield and Washington came out firing at the beginning of the second. The teams traded two buckets apiece in the opening minute to make the score 17-16 with Washington leading.

Crisfield held its biggest lead of the half just at the midway point of the second quarter. After a Jaguars’ turnover, the Crabbers fed it into their big man Douglas, who had been mostly unstoppable in the first frames. Douglas made quick work with his clear size advantage and scooped it in for the 34-28 lead. He led Crisfield with 10 at the half.

But two fast-break layups by Cottman kept the score close by Washington as they headed into halftime down two 34-32. He led the Jaguars with 23 points.

The third saw Crisfield open with a 5-0 run thanks to a Cohen 3-pointer at the started it for the Crabbers. Cohen had big 3-pointers throughout the game and led the Crabbers with 21 points. However, the Jaguars answered with a 9-0 run that gave them their first lead in some time at 45-43. A 3-pointer by Jemir Jones sparked the run.

Most of the Jaguars’ points came without the Crabbers’ Douglas, who sat out most of the third quarter.

But in the end, the free-throw line and jump shoots decided the game.

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Now both teams must regroup after such an emotionally-charged game. Purnell said one of the keys of the game was the steal by Cottman with four fouls. He said it just describes the player he is.

“That could have went either way,” he said of Cottman’s steal. “My heart dropped, but when they didn’t call it, I said, ‘OK we’re good.’ Shakur is a smart ballplayer with how aggressive to get how aggressive not to get. … That just lets you know what kind of IQ that kid has.”

Turpin, on the other had, said he had to get his squad back to the basics.

The Crabbers must focus on playoff seeding now, he said.

“Still have a half of a season left, we can’t quit,” he said. “Got to go back, strap them up and start all over again.”

For Washington and Purnell, he said rematch at Crisfield will be just as intense.

But this kind of win shows that the Jaguars are in every game, he said.

“We built a lot of confidence by beating our rival No. 1,” Purnell said. “Every close game you learn a lot of things. … This win, with the way we won it down the stretch with defense — by just not giving up — that lets you know we believe in every ball game.”